


Love Will Leave A Mark

by brokenhighways



Series: Happy Endings [7]
Category: Supernatural RPF
Genre: Angsty Schmoop, Fluff and Angst, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-02-28
Updated: 2014-02-28
Packaged: 2018-01-14 00:58:30
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,811
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1246723
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/brokenhighways/pseuds/brokenhighways
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Jared forgets sometimes that there are boundaries where they weren’t before but for the most part things are okay. They’re okay, and Jared feels better than he has for a long time. He feels like Jared again, which beats feeling like the douche who called off his wedding for a slew of idiotic reasons.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Love Will Leave A Mark

**Love Will Leave A Mark**

**_\--Fourth months after Sandy’s wedding_ **

**i.**

Jared’s just finished with his shift at _Blade_ when his phone buzzes in his pocket. He’s not really in the mood for talking but he’s not tired either so he checks to see who it is. He smiles when he sees that it’s a text from Jensen asking if he wants to come over for a (purely platonic) drink. Despite what Chad is insinuating they are just friends for now. At first it was a little weird when Jared got back from Texas, but once they’d agreed that being friends was what they wanted, it’d gotten easier. Jared forgets sometimes that there are boundaries where they weren’t before but for the most part things are okay. _They’re_ okay, and Jared feels better than he has for a long time. He feels like _Jared_ again, which beats feeling like the douche who called off his wedding for a slew of idiotic reasons. 

“Are you coming to Danneel’s engagement party?” Jensen asks when Jared’s settled besides him on the couch. Jared tries not to grimace but Jensen catches it. After the whole debacle at Sandy’s wedding, Jared’s not sure that he wants to be anywhere near anything wedding related. Jensen seems to think it’s hilarious that Jared thinks they’re wedding jinxes, but Jared is well versed in the art of jinxology. Plus his new psychic, Mystique, says that weddings are still bad for his aura. Besides, that’s not even taking into account the fact that Danneel’s planning on getting married to a guy she’s known for all of two months. 

“I don’t like it any more than you do, but we have to be supportive,” Jensen says. 

“But it’s been _two_ months,” Jared replies. “How could she possibly know that he’s the person that she wants to spend the rest of her life with? What if she wakes up one morning, say two weeks after the wedding—“

“You can’t say _one morning_ and then give a specific time frame.” Jensen interrupts to add _nothing_ to the conversation and Jared glares at him. He definitely hasn’t missed Jensen’s pedantry, that’s for sure.

“What if she suddenly realizes that she doesn’t want to spend the rest of her life with this guy?” Jared continues. “If they take the time to get to know each other they can figure out all of this stuff before they—“

“—end up breaking up because they never talked about it?” Jensen’s smiling a little and Jared knows that he’s referring to _them_. Annoyance flares up within but he does his best not to let it show on his face. Jared doesn’t mind joking about his and Jensen’s relationship. Or rather, he doesn’t mind when their friends do it because he knows that they’re messing around. With Jensen it’s a little different. 

“I feel like I’ve said something wrong…” Jensen sounds a little nervous and Jared sighs. 

“No,” he lies. “I’m just tired.” He actually is, and his body aches all over for some reason. He’s got to ask his boss to get him a better piano stool. Even though he can feel Jensen looking at him Jared doesn’t bother to stifle his yawn. 

“You look it,” Jensen says after a short while. “Maybe you should crash here. Guest room’s still empty.” Jared’s sudden lethargy is gone as quickly as it arrived because _that_ is a terrible idea. 

“I should probably go,” Jared replies hesitantly. “I’m tutoring that kid with the pushy mom tomorrow.” While Jared isn’t really in a good enough place financially to quit his job at _Blade_ , music has always been his passion, and a friend of his had put in a good word for him at a piano school, and now he does a few sessions a week. He’s hoping that they’ll take him on full time at some point. 

“Oh, well, you’re welcome to finish your beer first,” Jensen says. “I’m gonna go grab a shower.” He’s up and out of the room before Jared can respond. Jared feels like _he_ ’s said something wrong. 

~

Jared wakes up with a crick in his neck and an itchy blanket tucked around him. Once he’s aware of that, he realizes that he’s still at Jensen’s place, and after that he realizes that every single part of his body _hurts_ , his head pounds so hard that he’s sure it’s about to pop off and roll under the couch. His nose is blocked and his eyes are itchy and fuck it he’s sick. Unfortunately, he can’t afford to take another day off work and there’s no way that _Chad_ will stump up cash for rent. With a groan he hoists himself up and stands. He attempts to stretch but gives up after about three seconds. 

“Oh, you’re up,” Jensen says as he comes out of his bedroom. “You passed out on the couch and I didn’t have the heart to wake you and--oh my god, you look _awful_. Are you okay?” Jared is momentarily distracted by how nicely Jensen fills out his suit, and his mind flicks through memories of how he’d—

“Jared?” Jensen’s voice cuts into Jared’s very X-Rated memory and if Jared didn’t feel hot and uncomfortable already, he’s sure that he would right now in this second. “Do you want me to book you a doctor’s appointment before I go?”

“No,” Jared croaks – he can add a sore throat to his growing list of ails. “I’ll take some Advil before I go into work.”

Jensen doesn’t look too convinced, but eventually he grabs his work bag and leaves. 

~

Two days later, Jared still hasn’t left Jensen’s place and he’s knee deep in Kleenex and officially sick of Jensen’s chicken soup. Jensen might be good at a lot of things but cooking is not and will never be one of them.

“You are the worst patient _ever_ ,” Jensen laughs when Jared complains about the soup. He stayed off work today despite Jared pleading with him not to and it hasn’t been half as bad as he thought it’d be. 

“Sorry I’m not sorry,” Jared jokes. Jensen rolls his eyes good naturedly. “Hey can you pass me my laptop?” 

Jensen raises an eyebrow. 

“I need to see if I have enough in my account to pay the rent on the apartment,” Jared says. Usually, he would silently curse himself for not saying _my_ or even _our_ (on account of Chad’s unwelcome intrusion) but he finds that he’s not all that bothered about making the distinction. Jensen doesn’t seem to pick up on it either so Jared decides to let it go, he doesn’t need to pick each word he says meticulously. Not around Jensen. 

Jensen rubs the back of his neck nervously. “Don’t get mad but…I kind of paid your rent. Or rather I gave Chad money and then watched as he paid it.” Jared takes a moment to process the information but he’s derailed by the world’s longest sneezing fit, and once that’s over he can’t even bring himself to be mad about it.

“Thank you,” he says instead. “For that and for helping me out over the past few days. You didn’t have to.”

“I don’t mind looking after you,” Jensen says with a bashful smile. “And truthfully, I’ve kind of missed having someone around the apartment, even if you are a walking infection right now.”

“Don’t worry; I’ll try not to sneeze on you.”

~

Naturally, Jensen ends up getting sick too and somehow Chad is put on nurse duty. 

“This is convenient,” Chad says when he gets to Jensen’s place. “I bet the two of you conspired to mess up my schedule.” Jared and Jensen share an incredulous look. 

Jensen sniffles quietly. “You cannot be serious, dude. You don’t even have a job, what could you possibly have on your ‘ _schedule_ ’. 

“Great use of air quotes, baby,” Jared says teasingly, laughing when Jensen flips him off. Chad’s eyes widen comically and he mouths ‘ _Baby? Really?_ ’ 

“I am right here. I can see you. Both of you.” Jensen turns to catch Jared as he’s mouthing back his response. 

“If you must know, I’m halfway through watching The Wire,” Chad says. “I take my television seriously.”

“If only you’d take your unemployment seriously,” Jensen grumbles. 

“Breathe easy, Chad. You’re only here because these two idiots haven’t heard of flu jabs. And okay, also because Jared lets you live at his apartment rent-free and Jensen paid rent. And also because Katie threatened your manhood.” Chad is still giving himself a pep talk as he exits the room. 

“I think him being here is actually making me feel worse,” Jensen whines. Jared starts to laugh and regrets it instantly when it comes out as a coughing fit. 

~

Jared finds himself waking up in the middle of the night. He’s surprised to find that he feels a lot better, and also surprised that Chad’s chicken soup didn’t make either of them puke. His only rule when it comes to Chad is to never consume anything that he’s had a hand in making, but he hasn’t really had a choice. The clock on the nightstand reads: 3:06. Jensen shifts and Jared can tell that he’s awake. By some sort of silent mutual agreement they both turn to face each other at the same time. Even in the dark, Jared can easily make out the redness around Jensen’s nose and the way his eyes are slightly puffy. 

Somehow, he’s still as beautiful as he’s always been, and Jared desperately wants to reach out and touch. So he does. He reaches out and traces a pattern on Jensen’s face, fingers running down the smooth skin, lingering slightly as Jensen’s eyes lock onto his. He’s not sure who moves first but suddenly they’re kissing. It’s slow and steady, just lips pressed against lips but Jared’s heart is still hammering in his chest. 

This isn’t just a kiss, it’s _everything_ and Jared doesn’t know what the hell they’re supposed to do now. 

**ii.**

Jensen’s not surprised that they don’t talk about the kiss. They’d just gone about their day and riled Chad up by making him bring them the most inane things they could think of and even though he was sick, Jensen doesn’t remember the last time he had that much fun. Despite all of that, Jensen’s not stupid enough to think that sharing the same space with Jared for an entire week will change anything. He hasn’t missed the ‘Just Friends’ memo or how long it’s taken Jared to stop emphasising _my_ and _your_ in any sentence that includes the word ‘apartment’. So he’s not surprised that they don’t talk about the fact that they kissed each other but he is taken aback by how much he _wants_ to talk about it.

However, he’s not stupid enough to bring it up while Jared’s still panicking about Danneel’s engagement party. He’s still saying all of that stuff about being a jinx, no matter how many times they tell him that he’s being ridiculous. Right now Jared’s planning on skipping the whole thing all together and Jensen’s the one who has to convince him to change his mind. When Jensen points out that he hadn’t even been able to persuade Jared to marry him, Danneel tells him to use sexual favours as a bribe if he has to. Jensen’s not sure why he’s friends with her. Or why Jared being at her party is so important. 

~

When Jensen arrives at _Blade_ once he’s done at work, Jared’s not by his piano, he’s by the bar in middle of what looks like a heated discussion. Jared’s boss, Jeff, spots Jensen first and he rushes over towards him.

“Good, you’re here,” he says. “Is there any way you can get Jared to stop yelling at my cello player? I don’t know what’s wrong with him today. He took one look at Jonathan and went postal. I had to drag them apart.”

“Boy am I sorry I missed that; did he get any punches in?” Jensen asks. Jeff stares at him. He throws his hands up in the air. 

“You people are insane. And you know what? I’m done with it. I’ve put up with you, your boyfriend and those friends of yours for far too long now. Tell Padalecki not to bother coming back tomorrow.” Jeff turns to walk away and walks right into Jared, who has a murderous look on his face. 

“I hated this stupid place anyway,” he mutters. “Come on, Jensen, let’s go.”

~

Jared’s still pissed off when they reach the car and Jensen’s questions are met with monosyllabic answers and grunts. Eventually he gives up and lets Jared cool off. Jared’s never been the kind of person that stays angry for long. And sure enough, once they’re at the bar to meet their friends, he’s back to answering in full words again. 

“Are you two _still_ carpooling?” Katie asks when they sit down at the usual booth. “Isn’t Jensen’s office like a half hour away from _Blade_?”

“Not all of us are rolling in it,” Jared mutters darkly. 

Jensen sighs. “Jared got fired today.” 

“Ha!” Chad says. “I am officially no longer the only one who doesn’t have 

a job.”

Chris slaps Chad on the back of his head. “Jared’s got his other job, dumbass.” Chad glares at Chris as he rubs the sore spot. Jensen reaches over and whacks him again just for good measure. 

“It doesn’t pay all that well,” Jared says. “I might have to rent out my spare room just to pay rent. I haven’t even paid you back for covering this month’s rent.” 

“Dude, you can’t rent out my room, where the hell am I going to stay?” Jensen likes Chad, he really does, but _sometimes_ he wonders why the hell Jared calls him his best friend. He waits for Jared to take back what he’s said but there’s just silence. After two minutes it gets awkward.

“Jared?” Chad sounds uncertain now, and a little nervous. Jensen knows from previous conversations that Chad isn’t as confident as he wants people to think he is, but Jared’s been enabling him for a long time now. 

“I’m sorry, Chad. Either you step up and contribute or you’re going to have to leave,” Jared says. “I’m tired of you taking advantage.”

“Okay.” All of them turn to stare at Chad. 

“What?” Chad says. “If he wanted rent, all he had to do was ask. Instead he assumed that I had no way of paying it.”

“Do you have a way?” Jensen asks. 

Chad shrugs. “The Chadster _always_ finds a way.” 

~

“Okay so you know how I agreed to come to Sandy’s wedding and we did that whole _together_ thing,” Jensen says next time he’s alone with Jared. “I need you to do that with Danneel’s engagement party.” 

“She sent you didn’t she?” Jared replies with a heavy sigh. “I don’t know why she’s so insistent about me being there. Do you think that she’s planning something?” Jensen’s frustration flares up. Not only is he pissed at Danneel for harassing him over this, he’s pissed at Jared for being so difficult about the matter. Would it really kill him to just show up and eat a couple of finger sandwiches or something?

“And now you’re making that face.”

Jensen frowns. “What face?”

“The one where I’ve done something to piss you off but you don’t want to come out and say what I’ve done because you don’t want to piss _me_ off.” 

“I just don’t get why you’re so reluctant about a party.”

Jared huffs out a breath. “It’s not just any party, it’s an engagement party. Whenever you and I get near anything wedding-related something goes awry.”

“Sandy’s wedding was one time!” Jensen exclaims. “What other wedding-related thing have we managed to ruin?”

“ _Our_ wedding!” Jared says quietly. “We ruined that. Or well, I did. And sometimes it feels like my life is always going to revolve around that decision.”

“You can’t let something that happened almost a year ago dictate how you live your life, Jared,” Jensen replies. “It won’t end well.”

“Yeah well, it just sucks. All of it sucks. Having to live in an apartment that doesn’t feel like home, watching you with that guy you dated, watching Danneel move on with her life when it should have been _us_ first,” Jared pauses to look at Jensen briefly before he looks away. Jensen’s heart breaks when he sees the sadness in Jared’s eyes. “I just wish things would go back to how they were.” 

“Jared, that’s never going to happen,” Jensen says softly. “We can’t turn back the clock or change what happened, but what we _can_ do is move on.”

Jared swallows audibly before he answers. “ _Together?_ ”

Jensen smiles softly. “Sounds good to me.”


End file.
